Tag, confess, and pass it on!

I’m a procrastinator (surprise!). Apparently it’s a genetic weakness.

I’m also up to my ears in midsummer events, making it impossible to sneak away to the computer long enough to read blog posts and update my own blog.

But that’s enough with the excuses. Way, way, waaaay back on May 28, Diane Tibert ‘tagged’ me. The rules are:

1) Answer the questions posed by the tagger:

a) What was the last book you read?

The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser (I’m trying to catch up on Anne of Cleves, lucky No.4)

b) Physical books, ebooks or audio books?

Goodness, physical books! I love smelling them, feeling their pages. Though, if I ever found an audio book with Jude Law’s voice…I wouldn’t pass it up.

c) If your life was made into a movie, who would you like to play you?

Emma Thompson (think of her performance as Professor Trelawney in the Harry Potter movies. Yes. That’s me.)

d) Who is your favourite fictional character—book, comic or movie—of all time?

The first name that popped into my head was Jo March, of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and Little Men. She’s so stubborn and strong and … different. And she has short hair, like me! Christopher Columbus!

e) If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

That’s not a fair question! So I’ll be vague — the UK! Places to go include Hever Castle, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, National Portrait Gallery — everything Tudor-y.

f) Blueberries, Raspberries or Strawberries?

All three, though I hate picking blueberries.

g) Have you written a story which included an animal? What was the animal?

The first story I remember putting to paper (age 7, maybe) was about a super monkey called George. More recently, the protagonist in my fantasy-esque manuscript has a horse called Frost, loosely based on my own horse by the same name.

h) Typewriter, computer or looseleaf for drafts?

If I had a typewriter, I’d definitely use it. But alas, I do not, so I alternate between looseleaf and the computer.

i) What is the name of your favourite character in one of your stories?

Tristan. He’s so broken and tragic, independent, mysterious… I want to hug him all the time. Plus, he’s pretty easy on the eyes. Maybe I’m biased.

h) Do you like to write in a particular genre? If so, which one?

Generally fantasy-esque type stuff, but I’d like to try my hand at historical fiction at some point.

j) Pool, lake or ocean for swimming?

We have a pool, so I’m gonna say pool… But I’m not picky as long as I’m in good company.

2) The next rule in the Tag Game is to post the rules:

1. You must post the rules!

2. Answer the questions and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.

3. Tag seven people and link to them.

4. Let them know you’ve tagged them.

My eleven questions to those tagged (some are repeated from above because they were great questions):

a) What was the last book you read?

b) Physical books, ebooks or audio books?

c) If your life was made into a movie, who would you like to play you?

d) Who is your favourite fictional character—book, comic or movie—of all time?

e) If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

f) Blueberries, Raspberries or Strawberries?

g) Favourite genre of music?

h) In an inter-fantasy-species war, who do you want as allies?

i) If you had a time-machine, what year/place would you visit?

h) Are you looking forward to any books/movies this year? If so, what ones?

j) Favourite historical figure(s)?

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On June 24, Darlene Foster nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award AND the Reader’s Appreciation Award. I’m sort of in shock at this warm and wonderful gesture. Thank you, Darlene! Make sure you check out Darlene’s blog here.

 

 

Rules for the One Lovely Blog Award are:

 

• thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog
• share seven things about yourself
• nominate 3-10 blogs for the award and link to them
• let them know they’ve been nominated

Seven confessions?

1. Latest curiosity is Julie de Saint Laurent, mistress of Prince Edward Augustus, father of Victoria. They lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia for a time while Edward was governor.

2. My favourite dwarf from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is Bashful.

3. I own 2 novels by Phillipa Gregory, but have no desire to read them after the bad rap The Other Boleyn Girl has received by Tudorphiles and historians.

4. I’m the tallest member of my mother’s family by an average of six inches (I’m pretty sure they’re descended from hobbits). 

5. I want to learn more about Christina of Milan, potential fourth wife of Henry VIII.

6. Trilliums are my favourite flower.

7. The first thing I would do if I ever set foot in Hogwarts would be to race desperately to the portrait of Anne Boleyn and have a conversation with her. (Though I might suffer a heart attack first, in which case I would come back as a ghost to finish the conversation.) If you haven’t noticed, Anne hangs on the wall in Philosopher’s Stone as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sprint up the staircase to save the Stone. Google it!

 

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So. I’m going to pass along the One Lovely Blog Award to and ‘tag’ the following blogs. Don’t feel obligated to accept them or pass them on (if you’ve already received/done this, well done! It’s up to you if you’d like to do it again). It might be a time-saving idea to merge the 2 together (I didn’t because I’m procrastinating something else at the moment).

• Laura Best - read her witty posts on writing, her works, and living in a small town
• Cristian Mihai - check out the wonderfully composed posts and advice on writing and self-publishing
• Remembering the executed - touching and well-researched blog dedicated to remembering those whose lives ended in such tragic ways
• somethingbiggeroutthere - Zozie’s blog regarding her writing, war cries, and faith

Make sure you enjoy this fabulous Nova Scotian weather! (And if you’re ‘from away,’ I hope your weather is just as lovely!

Experimenting with Back Cover Blurbs

Diane Tibert’s very helpful post, Writing a Back Cover Blurb, got me thinking…and curious. Could I write one? Just to try it? I might need one in the future…maybe I should practise. And besides, when I mention my manuscript (Arden: the Girl from the Mountains), you have no idea what sort of deal I’m talking about. Maybe it’ll do us all some good. Or maybe it’ll just give us all headaches.

Well, I have nothing to lose. Here I go.

Eight years ago, a stranger crept through the halls of North Ferin’s capital, torturing the king’s eldest daughter and brutally murdering the king, queen, and four of their six children. Seventeen-year-old Ilex took his father’s throne with reluctance and grief, and under his careful and unexceptional rule, North Ferin prospered. Nearing the age of six-and-twenty, Ilex’s council urges him to marry and procure an heir, and his cousin Tristan is sent out all over the country to find the woman who would be queen.

Arden Falconer, the headstrong and defiant falconer of Faeleigh Mountain, has no love for her king, far off in his palace, while she raises her brother Derrin and takes care of her elderly godfather Teddy. She is content to be invisible, just a part of the mountain, until she catches the eye of Tristan.

Suddenly Arden finds herself coerced into leaving everything she loves and coached into being the king’s queen-to-be. Thrown into the heart of the land’s politics and of the royal family, Arden grows into someone worthy of being queen, someone worthy of saving North Ferin from the ugly magic that stirs in the south.

Too long? I think so.

*Ah-hem* Take two. Marker, eeehnd, action!

Eight years after the brutal murders of the royal family, North Ferin is in need of an heir for their young King Ilex. The king’s troubled cousin Tristan is used as a queen-scout, and he travels the country searching for a woman suitable to be consort.

Arden Falconer is the last woman anyone thought worthy of being queen. She’s stubborn, headstrong, and cares for no one, save her brother, godfather, and the falcons she breathes life into. Coerced into accompanying Tristan back to the capital city, Naphiring, Arden finds herself thrown into a deceptively beautiful world of mad princesses, mysterious princes, personable kings, and mistrusting nobles.

The falconer realizes that, as she struggles for her heart in the midst of pending war, North Ferin would benefit from her marriage to Ilex. But is she willing to choose duty over love? With a dark magic stirring in the south, Arden might not have a choice.

Haha, this is harder than I thought. It’s difficult putting 330 pages into three paragraphs.

Okay. Take three. Marker, eeehnd, action!

North Ferin is queen-less and heirless. King Ilex is nigh on six-and-twenty, and of his two remaining relatives, his sister Tamsin is mad and his cousin Tristan is illegitimate and hated by the king’s council. He needs a wife and child, and soon. Tristan becomes responsible for scouting the country for the woman who would be queen and finds her, quite by accident.

Arden Falconer does not care for the domestic woes of the king. In fact, she is barely aware of them. Only returning to civilization once a year for the annual market in Galisle, the falconer lives in the isolation of Faeleigh Mountain with her brother and godfather — she lives and breathes for her family, her birds. After the deaths of her parents and infant sister, Arden’s guarded heart is destined to never love another again, until she is coerced into accompanying Tristan to the capital city.

Thrust into a colourful world of politics, mistrust, and education, Arden struggles to find herself and her place at court. She comes to understand the sacrifice Ilex and Tristan have made for their country — duty over love, good over evil, trust over betrayal. Will her inner strength be enough to prevent war and procure the king’s heir? Or will the kingdom crumble and fall for her decisions?

Well, that was fun. Sort of. I’m glad that was just as an exercise, and not for an actual back cover blurb! It’s quite taxing, trying to compress nearly 85 000 words into less than 300. It makes one think about the important, inner workings of the story. I wish I had done this before I wrote the manuscript, after I finished the outline (yeah, I’m an outline girl).

Maybe I’ll cook up a back blurb for the sequel (of which the outline is remaining stubbornly unfinished)… Or maybe not.

What do you think? Do you have a favourite of the three? Or a combination of them? Do I have a future destined in back cover blurbs, or should I send out an apology to everyone who suffered to read that?

Versatile Blogger Award: Sharing the Love

To my greatest and most humble surprise, I have been awarded with the Versatile Blogger award by Diane Tibert. Being a recipient of the Versatile Blogger award comes with several guidelines:

• Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog
• List seven things about yourself
• Nominate and link to five blogs you enjoy

Here I go:

Thank you, Diane! Make sure you check out her blog HERE, where you will be sated with posts regarding writing, publishing, and tidbits of life on a hobby farm.

Seven things about me? Oh dear. I hope you at least find these somewhat amusing.

1. I talk to trees. Yes, I do. There are no greater listeners than trees. They absorb your words, ponder them, digest them, and whisper in response. Sometimes they’ll be grave, other times witty, and other times downright giddy. Some of my best friends are trees. Try it. There is no shame in being found in conversation with a maple, or having a chuckle with a fir. In fact, Henry David Thoreau once said: 

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.

2. I want a tattoo. We have no control over our appearance. We have no say in the width of our cheekbones or the length of our noses, whereas a tattoo is something we have complete control over. You might argue that you can control your appearance in other ways, like dying your hair or dressing a certain way, but it’s not permanent. It’s not something that will stay with you forever. However, I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to get a tattoo. I think I would have to watch someone get one first, then determine whether I still wanted one. If I ever did, it would probably be something to commemorate my long-standing admiration for Anne Boleyn. One of her mottos, perhaps? “Let them grumble — that is how it is going to be.” I’m not sure if I would get it in English, French, or Latin. Hmm…

3. I used to show rabbits. This one might be a little harder to explain. You know how people show horses? Or at exhibitions, people show cows? Well, for four years I showed a rabbit, a black Mini Rex buck called Hickory. The actual showing of the rabbit is quite similar to that of a cow: show off its best side (the left side, usually), handle it properly, “sex” it (show its gender), answer questions from the judge regarding medical emergencies, breeding, etc… I was quite good at it, too. Me and Hickory, we were the ones to beat. All the other rabbits and their owners eyed us with respect and mild fear. I’m kidding — or am I?

4. In my fantasy-esque novel,  Arden: the Girl from the Mountains (currently being considered for publication), there originally was a massive lake at the centre of the four countries: North Ferin, South Ferin, Mundir, and Derbanis (pronounced der-ban-ee). Halfway through I changed Jenalake to Reum Desert. In the sequel, which I’m currently brainstorming, I realized that my redheaded character must cross a large section of the Reum. A redhead? In the desert? And I thought my Victoria-weekend sunburn/tan was bad…

5. We own a Newfoundland Pony called Frost (also the name of my protagonist’s horse) who is possibly the most stubborn pony in the world. She’s just tall enough for me to ride, but with our combined lack of physicality that rarely happens. She changes colour with the seasons: in fall and spring she’s a gorgeous blue roan and in summer and winter she’s a bay. Weird, but adorable.

Frost showing off her rare bend…

6.. One of my friends and I are devoting our summer to getting in shape. We’re calling it “Combat Training.” The idea is that we’re pretending we’ll end up in the Hunger Games, and we don’t want to die. Along with running, sit-ups, and the like, we’ll be attempting wrestling, archery, and sword fighting. I think I’ll die before ever setting foot in an arena!

7. The same friend and I are co-authoring the blog You are the Tolkien to my Lewis. We’ll only be posting about once a week each, but in it we’ll be exploring the friendship and works of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I also plan on reading the entire Lord of the Rings series this summer, in between our gruesome Combat Training sessions.

Five blogs I hereby nominate and enjoy:

1. Something Bigger Out There by Zozie. Read her posts on her personal writing experiences and her inspiring posts on faith and Christianity.

2. The Creation of Anne Boleyn by Susan Bordo and Natalie Sweet – the website and blog for Susan’s upcoming book The Creation of Anne Boleyn. See posts for excerpts from the book and musings on Anne in pop culture.

3. Endymion at Night by historical fiction author Robert Parry.

4. Anne Boleyn: From Queen to History by Sarah.

 5. The Songs We Knew ~ art by Silly Little Dreamer. Adorable art by Silly Little Dreamer (aka Andrea).